Author's note: The song featured in this chapter is "Love, me" by Collin Raye (C) - if you don't know it, I highly recommend checking it out.


Rocket

The meal that night had been bordering on extravagant, at least by the Ape Colony's standards now that they were in the middle of a war and their hunters were busy with more pressing matters.

The females had picked the finest roots, mushrooms and berries they could possibly find, the youngsters had gathered enough fish from the river for every single ape (and human) to get a piece if they so desired, and the hunters had done their best to bring home as much meat as they could in the form of deer, birds and rabbits. All around were lavish decorations of leaves and flowers of varying colours and origin, as well as painted pelts and feathers decorating the walls and cave floors, and many wore elaborate patterns of war paint upon their fur and skin alike.

All of this was, of course, to celebrate Blue Eyes, Orion and Rocket, honouring their courage and letting them have one last meal together with the entirety of the colony before they would set out on their quest to find the apes a new home the following day.

Honestly, Rocket felt it was all a tad too much for his taste – not that he didn't enjoy a festive meal, mind you, but the balding ape would have preferred it to be less…grand.

But the feast also served as a goodbye-party for the human trio who had stayed with the Ape Colony for the last three months, Malcolm, Ellie and Alex, who were all sitting around the Ape King's fire – an honour that did not go unnoticed by any of the three humans. Malcolm and Ellie had both thanked Caesar profusely for having them for so long, giving them a chance and letting them near that which he treasured the most – his family and friends. His apes. His home.

Caesar just listened throughout their many words of thanks, and when they had finished, his only reply was a single, one syllable word, uttered in his usual, gravelly voice – though with a hint of amusement, Rocket noted.

"Trust."

The balding ape had nodded at that, agreeing with his old friend and king. These humans had deserved their trust as well as their teachings.

Well, now that he thought about it, it was mostly Lydia's teachings, but seeing as she was part of the colony, the Caesar's second-in-command figured that it still counted either way.

Speaking of the dark-haired human woman, she was also sitting at the Ape King's fire, with her son at her right and Tinker on her left, and therefore two seats away from Rocket himself. She was laughing and conversing with everyone around the fire, Tinker and Ellie in particular, and looked to be enjoying herself as much as everyone else this evening.

It was a good thing to see. Her behaviour just a month or so prior to this, following Roy's untimely death had most of those close to her seriously worried. She had thrown herself headfirst into her duties to the colony, working harder than ever in what Rocket had perceived as a desperate attempt to put Roy's absence in the back of her mind.

The balding ape could easily understand why. Roy had been a good ape and a dear friend to Rocket. He had been a proper, honourable male with a kind heart and an honest nature, and his death had been wholly unnecessary.

Also, Ash's death had affected him in a very similar way to how Roy's death had Lydia. The difference was, however, that he and Tinker had each other to help shoulder this burden, while Lydia had been busy trying to be strong for Orion and neglecting her own need to talk things through in the process.

That is, until her adoptive son had had enough of this and called upon Maurice, who had, in his gentle but firm fashion, forced Lydia to finally deal with her sorrow in a healthy way and realise that she could share it with others.

It had seemed to be a turning point for her – so much so that Tinker had spoken to Rocket about how she felt like she had finally gotten her friend back again – which both females had needed after the death of Cornelia.

She looked alright this evening, though. Better than Rocket had expected her to, honestly, what with the prospect of her only still-living family leaving her all alone for goodness knows how long in less than a day's time. It was a prospect he knew didn't sit well with Tinker, and Caesar himself wasn't too keen on sending his eldest son out on this potentially dangerous quest either.

Perhaps it would dawn on her after they left? Maybe after a week or so, or even a month, when the reality of Orion's absence would set in?

In any event, Rocket knew Tinker would stick close to Lydia in this time, the two of them having grown closer than ever since Cornelia's death – which is why the balding ape actually didn't worry all that much for the two of them. As long as Caesar managed to keep this conflict away from the apes' home until Rocket returned with the two adolescents and the promise of a safe place to go, he figured his wife and human friend would be just fine.

No, it was mostly the Ape King Rocket worried about.

Caesar was working himself extremely hard, his responsibilities and the obstacles he faced nowadays almost seeming to overwhelm him at times. Cornelia's death had hit hard as well and this conflict with the soldiers had left the Ape King preciously little time to deal with it emotionally.

And now, he was sending his son out into unknown territory, putting a responsibility on the young prince's shoulders that Rocket knew Caesar would rather have avoided.

But he was the heir and would have to take over the King's mantle eventually. Besides, it was most likely safer for him to be away from the battles in the forest in any event.

And Rocket would protect the young apes with his life. They were the future of the Ape Colony.

And Ash would have been too, if it hadn't been for Koba…

Rocket shook his head discreetly to rid himself of the thought. It would do him no good to think about it now. He was supposed to enjoy himself this evening – the journey that lie ahead would be long and trying – better to treasure this moment while it lasted, being together with friends and family and eating a meal prepared with much care.

And so, he did, joining in with everyone else when a particularly entertaining story made the gathering erupt into laughter, and tearing into his piece of deer liver with much enthusiasm. It was a fine meal Caesar had had the colony put together and Rocket honestly couldn't remember ever having been as full as he was when it was over.

The quiet murmur of huffing, hooting and playful gibbering followed as everyone around the fires began to converse and Rocket looked appreciatively out across the large gathering of apes from his elevated position at Caesar's fire. It would probably be a long time before he would see such a thing again.

"Oh, by the way, guys, I dug up something you might find useful." Lydia suddenly spoke up amidst the quiet, catching Rocket's attention, as well as everyone else's, who turned to the human woman with eyes full of curiosity.

"Dug up?" Malcolm piped with a sceptical look on his face.

Lydia rolled her eyes as she searched through a pocket in her thin, grey hoodie.

"Not literally, Malcolm… geez…" She countered as she pulled out a worn, folded piece of paper. "Although I did have to go very thoroughly through my backpack to find it. It had made its way into a compartment on the inside I'd honestly forgotten existed."

Rocket noticed how both Maurice and Caesar eyed the parchment with eyes that told the balding ape that the two had a pretty good idea of what the human woman wanted to show them, a tentatively hopeful look appearing on the Ape King's face.

It soon became clear to Rocket as well, as Lydia began to unfold the parchment, its surface full of creases and mouldy patches, but still quite discernible once the entirety of it was revealed.

It was a map.

Maurice, who sat between Caesar and Malcolm, rumbled deeply from within his throat at the sight and leaned forward to get a better look past the dying cookfire in front of him. It was little more than embers now, the torches all around the group providing plenty of light for everyone to see what the human woman had uncovered from within the confines of her worn backpack.

"I know it's not much, but at least it'll give you an idea of where things are – or used to be, as it were – and where you might still have a chance of finding some people." Lydia spoke, sounding slightly apologetic as she pointed out a few larger cities on the map.

Seeing the name San Francisco on the map and knowing that to be the city they had fled from, Rocket hooted to get Lydia's attention.

"Where did you come from? All those years back?" He asked curiously in sign.

She had mentioned it once upon a time but had been quite brief about it. He only knew that it had taken her over a year to get to their colony but beyond that, Rocket really didn't have a clear concept of how long the journey had been for her – and he doubted most of the other apes did either.

Lydia tilted her head in that strange manner she always did, a soft smile appearing on her face as Orion leaned in beside her to scan the map as she spoke – seemed like he was just as curious, which told Rocket that she really hadn't been talking about it much, even with her own son.

"Minneapolis. That's the city where the human colony I lived at was. It's all the way up here, in the state of Minnesota. Before that I lived higher up in the state though, not too far from Lake Superior."

The names meant nothing to Rocket, honestly, but when she pointed it out on the map and he saw exactly how far it was, his mouth made an o-shape of surprise and his green eyes darted across the worn parchment in astonishment.

He could see how small the city of San Francisco was on the map, as well as how large the bay separating it from the forest where they lived was in comparison. He knew the distance between the forest and the city well enough, and finally seeing it compared to Lydia's trip made him finally realise how very, very far she and her ape companions had had to trek to get here. No wonder it had taken them so long!

"You walked all the way from there to here?" Blue Eyes signed from beside Rocket, his sky-coloured orbs wide as they, too, traced the spots Lydia had pointed out. Seems like the young ape had gained a new level of respect for her after having learned this.

"Yep. On my own two, trusty legs." She spoke easily, slapping her own thigh appreciatively and making Malcolm release a subdued laugh.

"I am glad we will have horses…" Orion spoke in a small voice beside his mother, looking bewilderedly at the map.

Lydia smirked teasingly at the young adolescent.

"Going to catch a ride again like you did the first time? You always sat on top of my backpack or on your father's shoulders when we were on our way here. Sometimes you'd even sit on Blaze. Poor mutt nearly had all the fur on his back pulled out because of you."

Rocket couldn't help but laugh at the image as it appeared in his mind, and seemingly, neither could anyone else as Orion's face turned sheepish and he looked apologetically at the male canine resting behind him and his human mother.

"Why did you let me. Sit on him, then?" The young ape asked perplexedly once the laughter had died down again.

It was a legitimate question, in truth. Lydia was very good to her dogs and Rocket couldn't possibly imagine her letting an ape child abuse them by pulling out their fur to the point that they had almost gone as bald as he was by now.

"Well, he didn't buck you off or anything. Besides, you learned pretty quickly what his whining meant when you pulled too hard." Came Lydia's easy reply, accompanied by a soft shrug of her shoulders.

Then, Caesar spoke up, changing the subject as his eyes shifted between the city Lydia had come from and their current location on the map.

"What route did you take?"

There were multiple roads with various numbers and symbols drawn on the map – larger roads, Rocket figured – but none stood out as an obvious route to take. Still, the balding ape had expected that Lydia and Roy had taken the most direct one.

"It's funny you should ask, Caesar. I've actually been trying to piece that together myself ever since I found this – I never did manage to write it down as we went. Got something I can write with, Alex?" She replied before turning to the human teen, who immediately began searching the satchel he always brought along for a writing utensil Lydia could use.

"Here." The young human spoke as he handed her a pencil.

The woman thanked him before returning her attention to the map, beginning to draw a line from her old home and continuing in a west to south-western direction. Rocket noticed how the line she drew pointedly avoided most major cities and how it wasn't the straight path he had thought it would be. As she went on with her task, the line never strayed into the areas marked as Denver or Utah and stayed for a long time in the one called Idaho until it finally cut into the upper left corner of Nevada, just before it hit California – the area the city of San Francisco was located in.

Good thing Caesar had insisted that all apes, even the elders, learn their letters – otherwise Rocket wouldn't have been able to make any sense of this map.

As Lydia meticulously drew, she sometimes lifted the pencil from the map while staring down at it with a crease between her eyebrows – presumably trying to remember where exactly their trek had taken them all those years ago. Rocket could hardly blame her for losing track of such a thing – it was a long time ago, after all.

"This should be more or less it…" She spoke when she finally drew the last line that traced just south of Sacramento and around the bay before it finally trailed into the forest they lived in now.

"Why not travel straight? You stayed in the north very long." Rocket signed, to which Maurice and Caesar both nodded.

"The state of Nevada is very dry and has many deserts, so Roy and I decided that we wouldn't cut right through it – it probably made the trip longer than it needed to be, but I wasn't willing to risk being exposed on miles and miles of desert road with no idea of where the next water source would be. We had to at least pass through at some point if we wanted to ever get anywhere, though."

Rocket understood that sentiment. Even if there hadn't been any humans in those deserts to be exposed to anymore at the time, they had still had the responsibility of a small ape child. Staying on a longer, but safer path had been the best option, in his opinion.

It was a shame, really, that Lydia wasn't coming as well, Rocket thought as she explained the journey in more detail. She seemed to have a good, basic knowledge of the land – heck, she had travelled though it on her way here – and was practiced in the art of surviving on the go.

But she was needed here, Rocket knew. Her hunting had become vital to the colony and she had now begun to oversee the making of bows and arrows, as well as training the apes in the use of the weapon. Besides, he felt better knowing that Tinker would have a good friend like Lydia to rely on in his absence.

So, Rocket made sure to receive the next best thing – Lydia's knowledge.

It had been decided that they would try their luck by going north and looking at the map Lydia had pulled out now, Rocket thought that would indeed be their best bet – maybe they would also try to go more inland, towards the east? It would be easier to disappear again in whichever direction they chose, should the soldiers decide to go look for them again.

"Where do you think we'll find some people? Like, humans?" Alex asked carefully, keeping his eyes on Lydia as he spoke. His father and step-mother followed his example and paid close attention to the dark-haired woman who had trained them in the art of survival for the better part of three months now.

Lydia pursed her lips in thought.

"I'd say Sacramento would be a good place to start. It's relatively close and it's a large city. Good place for people to gather in large groups."

"We drove back and forth to trade with them when we still had plenty of fuel for our cars… Lost contact with them after a couple of years, though, when we began to run out of… well, everything." Malcolm replied, and Rocket sensed a small trace of hopelessness in his tone.

"Well," Lydia answered, biting her lip as she thought. "There's Reno once you get past the mountains, but it's way smaller. I don't know if anyone would be left there after so long. You could go to Los Angeles, but that's in the opposite direction of where Rocket and the boys are going and quite a long way. Still, it's by the coast, so chances are, if there is a colony in that direction, it'll be there. Access to the sea and all."

Then, she tilted her head as she lifted her eyes to regard Malcolm and Ellie.

"There's nothing in San Jose?"

Ellie shook her head.

"Malcolm and Dreyfus were among the first to establish a colony around here and most survivors began coming from San Jose once the rumour reached them. They never started anything once that happened."

Lydia nodded along at Ellies words, seemingly turning over and examining the information in her mind.

"In any event, you know there used to be a place in Sacramento, so I'd say you should start there no matter what. If nothing comes of it, try Los Angeles. Portland could work too, but it's an even longer trip. You'll have to decide that yourselves if needed."

The human trio agreed on all points Lydia made, and Rocket found himself thinking that she would make quite a good leader. She was good at coming up with solutions, she was decisive and took her responsibilities very seriously, but still managed to be kind and thoughtful of those around her.

In truth, she wasn't all that different from Caesar, now that Rocket thought about it.

They all spoke at length about which roads would be safest to travel and where they would have the best chance of finding a suitable place for the apes, Caesar, Maurice and Rocket especially paying close attention to Lydia's recounts of the land she had seen on her way there. It might have been a long time ago, but it could still prove to be very useful soon enough.

In the end, the talk of their journey was wrapped up in favour of a more light-hearted topic – and a much more entertaining one to boot.

Lydia had brought the guitar out again, as she had done on a few evenings since she brought it with her to the colony a few months back and took turns with Malcolm in playing melodies and popular songs from human culture on the instrument, much to the surrounding apes' enjoyment.

"You know Collin Raye, Malcolm?" Lydia asked after a few performances, most of which were accompanied by her singing, though Malcolm and Ellie would sometimes join in if it was a song they knew.

It was quite a nice thing to witness, and Rocket wondered if someday, apes would be able to do the same. Maybe even in his own lifetime?

"You're kidding, right? Of course, I do!" The human male answered with a broad smile on his face, his blue eyes seeming to be twinkling in the light of the torches around the gathering. "Any specific song of his you had in mind?"

If truth be told, Rocket had little to no idea what they were on about – he gathered that they were talking about a man who had made several songs but seeing as he didn't know much about human culture, at least not to this extent, he contented himself with just observing the exchange amusedly.

Lydia grinned back in turn at the human male, the smile only broadening when Ellie also piped up.

"I used to listen to his songs all the time! You know how to play them?"

"Just one." Lydia replied, hoisting the guitar further onto her thigh as she sat cross-legged on the cave floor, her fingers going over the strings of the instrument in what Rocket now recognized as the introduction to a song. "My sister taught this one to me after I begged her to do it for weeks."

Both Malcolm and Ellie bore looks of fond nostalgia on their faces once they heard the melody Lydia was making out on the strings under her practiced digits – a light, sweet tune that Rocket found extremely pleasing to his ears.

"Gonna join me on this one?" She asked with a raised brow and a smile on her face as she looked to the two adult humans while still playing. They both nodded their heads in the affirmative.

And then, Lydia made a brief pause in her playing before picking it up right from the beginning – and all three adult humans began to sing while those around them listened intently.

~I read a note my grandma wrote back in 1923
Grandpa kept it in his coat, and he showed it once to me
He said, "Boy, you might not understand
But a long, long time ago
Grandma's daddy didn't like me none
But I loved your grandma so"

We had this crazy plan to meet and run away together
Get married in the first town we came to, and live forever
But nailed to the tree where we were supposed to meet instead
I found this letter, and this is what it said

If you get there before I do, don't give up on me
I'll meet you when my chores are through
I don't know how long I'll be
But I'm not gonna let you down, darling wait and see
And between now and then, 'til I see you again
I'll be loving you
Love, me~

Rocket found himself deeply moved by the story of the song and the pure message within the lyrics themselves. Beside him, his wife leant her head on his shoulder as she observed the humans' little performance, seeming thoroughly at peace as she listened.

~I read those words just hours before
My grandma passed away
In the doorway of a church
Where me and grandpa stopped to pray
I know I'd never seen him cry in all my fifteen years
But as he said these words to her
His eyes filled up with tears~

The balding ape observed the other listeners present and noted how everyone seemed utterly engrossed in what they were hearing. Blue Eyes and Orion were both shifting their gazes between the adult humans, hanging on to each word uttered, while Alex merely smiled at his father from time to time. Maurice was transfixed at what was going on before him, most likely trying to preserve the moment within his vast and wise mind, if Rocket knew him well, while Caesar observed the scene before him with a calmness to him that Rocket rarely saw nowadays. The Ape King rocked his youngest son gently in his large arms and the balding ape could have sworn that he saw his leader's bottom lip quiver ever so slightly as the chorus was reached once again.

~If you get there before I do, don't give up on me
I'll meet you when my chores are through
I don't know how long I'll be
But I'm not gonna let you down, darling wait and see
And between now and then, 'til I see you again
I'll be loving you
Love, me
Between now and then, 'til I see you again
I'll be loving you
Love, me~

Rocket snuck a long arm around his wife's shoulders as the song came to an end, many apes around them hooting approvingly and nodding to each other at the performance they had witnessed. It wasn't too often that they got to hear singing like this, especially not accompanied by the sound of an instrument. Lydia would often hum gently as she went about her business or even murmur a little tune to herself, but she had never outright sung in all the time Rocket had known her.

A shame, really, he thought as he rubbed Tinker's shoulder absent-mindedly, simply enjoying the cosy atmosphere as the other individuals around the dying cookfire went back to talking. Little yellow and orange embers would ever so often be shooting up from it like so many dancing fireflies and as Tinker snuggled closer to him, Rocket thought to himself that he would do everything in his might to protect this.

This place.

These people.

This feeling.

The feeling of peace, safety and love…. Yes, he would fight for that till the end.


Lydia

The next day, only a few hours after the sun had risen to cast its golden rays across the forest, Lydia stood just outside the entrance to the Ape Colony, watching as her adoptive son readied his horse together with Rocket, Blue Eyes, and the human trio that was to travel with them – at least part of the way, in any case.

It was surreal in a way, seeing him prepare to leave and knowing that she was not going to travel with him. When she had left him with Roy only to be brought back three days later, and about three months ago, when she had been hiding with Caesar and the humans while Orion and Roy had been imprisoned by Koba, had been the only times that she had been separated from her son for more than a day.

Back then she hadn't known if she would ever see him again either, and yet, those times had felt entirely different. She had known where he was – well, most of the time, anyway – and she had been able to take comfort in the knowledge that Roy was with him when she had been gone.

She had no such reassurance now, even if she knew that Rocket would be with him the entire time. It wasn't that she didn't trust Rocket – she knew the balding chimpanzee would guard her treasured son with his very life if it came down to it – but he wasn't Roy

Then again, Lydia was certain that, had their roles been reversed, Rocket would not have hesitated to let Lydia protect Ash in such a situation. Perhaps she was just being overly protective? Like a mother bird not wanting her young to leave the nest just yet?

Standing here now, though, she knew there was no way back and that she had to finally let him test his wings to see if they would keep him up.

And all the while, the conversation they'd had two weeks prior kept going through her head. She had been able to see on him that he actually wanted to go. To have this adventure with his childhood friend and face the world together with him.

Lydia hated how it seemed to be his concern for her wellbeing that had held him back, even if she was deeply touched by the sentiment. His relationship with Ivy was still new and exciting, and he had an ever-growing responsibility to live up to within the colony as he entered the ranks of the adult males. He should be worried about leaving that behind, not about Lydia being lonely in his absence, for crying out loud!

She could see where he was coming from with this, of course, seeing as he was the one who had felt it necessary to call upon Maurice to make her finally open up about her grief. He had truly acted as a sensible adult in this situation – something Lydia was ashamed to admit she had failed at, no matter how hard Maurice had tried to convince her otherwise.

Suddenly, Caesar's gruff voice sounded beside her, deep and with a hint of concern as he laid a heavy hand on her shoulder – he, too, was looking on as his eldest child prepared to leave, carrying little Cornelius close to his chest with his other arm.

"Are you well?" He asked, searching her face for tells that would reveal her current mood.

Lydia waved him off with a gentle smile.

"I'm fine, Caesar. Just lost in thought, that's all." She replied easily, though her gaze became tender and perhaps even nostalgic as she turned her head to observe her adoptive son once more. "I have a hard time fathoming how he grew up so fast… Sometimes it feels like it happened from one day to the next…"

The Ape King nodded in understanding and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"I feel the same. About Blue Eyes." He spoke as his eyes sought out the eldest Ape Prince, who had now secured the primitively-made saddle onto his dark stallion. "I miss the days. When he was still so small. That I could carry him…"

Caesar wore a look of longing on his rugged face as he said this, and Lydia remembered that he had said much the same on one of the sleepless nights they had shared talking.

Reminiscing… Lydia expected they'd do a lot of that from this point on, probably more so than ever.

That, and worrying about the fate of their sons and old friend – and of course the humans they had come to care so much about.

Speaking of the trio, they had finished preparing their horses together with their ape-escort and the group now made their way to stand in front of the Ape King, Lydia, Maurice and the rest of the Ape Colony who had come to see them off.

"We're about ready I think…" Malcolm spoke as he stood before Caesar, his voice sounding more like a full-sentence sigh as he patted his hands a couple of times against the sides of his thighs.

He didn't seem to know what to do with himself, quite honestly, and Lydia could easily understand why. Here he was, standing before Caesar and all his apes, no longer as a potential enemy, but as a dear friend and honoured guest at the Ape Colony. They had shared the last three months with these apes and come to care deeply for them, forming bonds and creating memories – no wonder it'd seem strange to the trio to just leave that behind in search for greener pastures, really.

But it was how it needed to be – everyone knew that. Caesar didn't want the humans to become entangled in the apes' war with the soldiers, no matter how much Malcolm argued that he could at least go and talk to this 'Colonel', who they had learned was the title of the man leading the army they were fighting.

It didn't stop Malcolm from trying, though.

"You know, Caesar, I could still go? See if I can talk some sense into the man, I-I mean, I'm a human, perhaps he'll listen to me?"

Caesar shook his head, as he had done so many times before when Malcolm had suggested this.

"You have done much. For apes… I would not ask you. Of anything more."

"Come on, you guys have sheltered us for so long, the least I can do is try and make this right-"

"Malcolm." Lydia spoke calmly beside Caesar, her expression gentle but firm as she regarded the man in front of her. "We're not going to let you risk your life and limb for us. We've had this talk before, remember?"

Ellie and Alex stood by him, the woman looking on with a hopeless, though entirely sympathetic stare as her husband talked, while the teen only shared concerned looks with Orion and Blue Eyes as they came up beside him.

It was easy to see that the boy agreed with his father on some level, the subtle nods he gave as the man continued to speak told Lydia as much – but she could also easily tell that he was scared.

"And we can't just leave you guys out here to die! He should at least know the real story! He doesn't even know that it was a rogue ape who caused all this – besides, how do you know he won't even listen, huh?" The human male challenged, a desperate edge to his voice.

Lydia was deeply touched by his determination to help, as was Caesar and all the other apes of the colony, but it was an offer they just could not accept.

And Lydia took it upon herself to explain to him exactly why.

"You're right, we don't know, but ask yourself this, Malcolm: What if he doesn't listen? What if he sees you as just another 'hippie ape-sympathiser'? Like Carver did? Remember, these people came here to kill apes who they know targeted humans and I'll bet you anything that they'll do the same to anyone who harbours any sympathies for such apes – no matter how human or sincere they are."

"Malcolm, come on, she's right. Maybe you should just let it go…" Ellie tried to interject, though the man only repeated his argument from before.

Caesar said nothing in all of this, contenting himself with looking on as Lydia made the exact same points he had done several times before – only she articulated it much more fluently. In a direct and eloquent manner that the Ape King still had yet to master.

She had no doubt it would come with time, though. He already spoke far better and with fewer pauses for breath than he had done just a few months ago and he took fewer and fewer shortcuts when he spoke as well. He would be fluent in no time, Lydia was sure of that.

When she could tell Malcolm was drawing in breath to make another argument, the dark-haired woman didn't give him the chance utter it.

"You have a family to think of. A family who loves you and needs you." She knew her eyes were piercing as they stared into his own, twinkling ones, and she also knew that it always made him extremely uncomfortable when she did that.

But she needed him to understand – even if it meant making him feel uncomfortable.

And even if her next words seemed like a low blow.

"Take it from someone who knows what it's like to get that ripped away… Don't put your loved ones through that if you can help it, Malcolm." Lydia spoke in a much gentler tone, refusing to acknowledge the sympathetic stares from the bystanders all around them, lest she lose her resolve to make him see reason.

Beside the man, Ellie took her partner's hand gently into her own as his shoulders slumped at Lydia's words. That's when she knew she'd gotten through to him – and not a moment too soon.

He sighed heavily in defeat.

"You make a fair point… It's really annoying sometimes, you know that?" Malcolm spoke, adding a small smirk at the end of his sentence as he regarded the woman in front of him.

It diffused the tension rather well, Lydia had to admit – even Maurice, who stood on Caesar's other side, gave a deep chuckle.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Lydia replied with a shrug and a smile on her face. "Besides, it's not my fault you've got no sense of self-preservation."

A snicker behind a hand from Ellie had Malcolm roll his eyes good-naturedly and with that, the subject was dropped.

"Anyway, I suppose this is goodbye…" The human male spoke in a much more sombre tone, turning to the Ape King with a saddened, but no less fond look on his face, which his family matched as they, too, looked to Caesar.

The large chimp nodded, hoisting Cornelius further up on his arm.

"Yes… It is." He spoke solemnly, looking for all the world like saying goodbye to any of the individuals standing in front of him was the last thing he wanted to do – which it probably was if Lydia knew him well.

Then, Malcolm reached out his hand for Caesar to shake while offering the ape a subtle, reassuring smile.

"Trust." He said as the king took his hand, giving it a firm shake as he did so.

"Trust." Caesar agreed with a barely-there smile of his own before he let go of Malcolm's hand and moved on to Ellie, who he gave a quick hug.

It went on like that for a while, a criss-cross of greetings, handshakes and hugs going all around until the human trio reached Lydia. Malcolm stuck out his hand to her, much like he had to Caesar, only for the dark-haired woman to look down at the offered limb with a raised brow.

"Uh… Something wrong, Lydia?" He asked uncertainly, looking to Caesar for a possible explanation to what he might have done wrong.

The Ape King looked just as puzzled for a brief moment, until Lydia spoke up and a gruff chuckle left him.

"We've spent the last three months together, training, eating and becoming friends after I was dead-certain you guys were out to kill us all and now, all I get is a handshake? That doesn't seem like a fair trade, now does it?" Lydia answered with a raised brow, barely containing the broad grin fighting its way across her features at Malcolm's perplexed stare.

"Man up and give me a hug, you big oaf! I'll probably never get to see your sorry ass again – it's the least you could do!" She laughed, not waiting for the startled human male to initiate the hug himself but stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him instead.

It wasn't a particularly long hug, but it was tight and friendly, Lydia ending it with a pat on Malcolm's back before he even had the chance to reciprocate properly. She immediately moved on to Ellie, who was better prepared and returned the hug fiercely. Lydia was going to miss having another human woman to chat with, really. Someone who knew the struggles of maintaining that pesky human modesty all the way out here in the wilderness.

Then, she reached Alex, who she also embraced tightly, a kind smile on her face once she stepped back, still with a hand on his shoulder as she spoke.

"You're a good kid, Alex, don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise." Lydia told him truthfully, squeezing his shoulder as she added playfully. "And keep an eye on your dad – the guy could use someone with a good portion of common sense with him, I'd say."

"I heard that!" The man in question spoke loudly, though there was nothing but light-hearted exasperation in his voice.

Alex released a subtle snicker and nodded his head at Lydia.

"Thanks… I'll do my best." He said, offering the dark-haired woman a slightly awkward, but sincere smile.

She was going to miss this kid too. She may have been about 10 years his senior, but she had really begun to view him as something akin to a little brother during the trio's stay with the apes. He kind of reminded her of Matthew just before he died, actually. Quiet and with that peculiar teenage-awkwardness, but still with a kind heart to him as well as that special ability to get close to people without really trying all that hard.

Lydia grinned all the same, putting up her fist for him to bump, which he did immediately.

She turned to Orion next as the humans went on to talk with Maurice, only to find that her son was busy saying goodbye to Ivy. The sight of the two with their heads intimately pressed against each other made a lump appear in Lydia's throat as her heart was flooded with parental pride. He truly was growing up fast…

And when she saw how Orion pulled back from the gesture, only to stare shyly into Ivy's emerald eyes as he reached up to twiddle her braid adoringly between his large fingers, Lydia couldn't help letting a fond smile grace her features, waiting just a few more seconds before she approached the pair, so she could also bid her son goodbye.

She shot Ivy a soft, knowing look which seemed to make the young ape female's ears go slightly red before Lydia turned to her adoptive son, who immediately pulled her into a tight embrace that almost squeezed the air right out of the human woman. She didn't mind it too much, though.

She gasped softly for breath when they let go of each other, and then lifted her finger in a warning gesture at him.

"Now, don't you dare come back missing a limb or something, you hear me? I want all ten fingers and all ten toes to be exactly where they belong when I see you again, are we clear?" Lydia spoke in mock-sternness, adding a soft smile at the end to tell Orion that it was partly meant as a joke. Partly.

"Clear as the sky, Mother." Orion replied with a fond smile.

Honestly, what had become of that tiny fur ball she used to coddle and hum lullabies to?

She nodded firmly all the same, satisfied with his answer.

"That goes for you too, Blue." She spoke then, turning her head towards the scarred, young Ape Prince, who was currently saying goodbye to his father and younger brother. "Come back in one piece, alright?"

The adolescent ape huffed out an overbearing laugh along with the Ape King. They had become close again after Koba's downfall, Blue Eyes finally opening up to Caesar and listening to him once more. Adding to that, he had also completely dropped the suspicion and prejudice against Lydia that Koba had clouded his mind with for so long now. It was as if it that period had never occurred, even if she knew that Blue Eyes still felt awful about the way he had acted towards her.
Lydia had reassured him several times, though. She was just glad they were back to talking again – he was, after all, as dear to her as Ash had been.

The Ape Prince promised her that he would return whole as well, and Lydia was satisfied with his response.

She turned back to Orion once again as the group began to move towards their horses, the string of heartfelt goodbyes coming to an end at last. She hugged him fiercely one last time before he would leave her, doing her best to commit everything about this moment to memory. His scent, the feel of his fur against her cheek and his long arms around her… His clear, verdant eyes as he stared back at her once the hug was over and their foreheads gently meeting one last time.

"Please be safe, Sweetie…" Lydia whispered, to which Orion nodded.

"You as well, Mother." Came his solemn reply, and Lydia felt tears prickling at the back of her eyes at his words.

They were the last ones Lydia would hear from her son in a long time, she knew, and she bit her bottom lip at the thought as he reluctantly let go of her, cast a longing look over at Ivy one last time and then slowly turned around to go to his horse together with the rest of the group.

They all mounted their horses, some more gracefully than others, Lydia noted, and began checking that everyone had all they needed to bring.

"Take good care of the boys, okay Rocket?" Lydia called after the balding chimp who was to watch over her precious child on this quest, Caesar's second-in-command and old friend.

And my friend too, Lydia added fondly as she caught his eye.

"Like they are my own." He promised with a firm nod as he settled into his crudely-made saddle, his horse scraping ever more impatiently at the dirt beneath its hoofs the longer they delayed.

Rocket cast one last, tender look at his teary-eyed wife, signing a gentle goodbye to her before he redirected his gaze to Caesar, the two chimps nodding firmly at each other. Then Rocket hooted once, turned his horse and began leading the group away.

At that moment, as Lydia watched her son's retreating form disappear into the forest, she felt a gentle hand slip around her own and looked down to see that it was Tinker who had taken hold of her limb as she, too, stared longingly after the group.

And when the two females shared a brief look and blue eyes met green, both pairs filled to the brink with tears as they, hand in hand, watched the last of their loved ones disappear into the forest.